Many manually operated valves are known. Some of these valves are intended for operation by hand (as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,375 (Sep. 1, 1987) to Vorhis), some by mouth (as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,207 (Feb. 11, 1997) to Paczonay), and others by either hand or mouth (as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,566 (Jul. 25, 1989) to Riggert). Many of these valves open to allow fluid flow by the application of opposing forces on an external part of the valve causing the valve housing, an internal component thereof, or both, to deform.
Valves of this kind have many applications in the art including use with fluid (e.g., a non-solid such as a liquid or gas) conducting tubes in a laboratory or hospital, nourishment tubes for pilots, astronauts, or others required to wear protective suits, drinking bottles, and other applications where it is beneficial for a person to keep one or both hands free to do something else; like ride a bicycle, or drive a car. By using a valve which is easily opened by a single hand or by mouth, a person can conveniently continue a desired action and still operate the valve.
However, currently known valves may have undesirable characteristics associated with them. These undesirable characteristics include relatively low flow rates, relatively complicated methods of operating the devices, parts which wear out or do not maintain a seal after extended or repeated use, and specialty parts which are not replaceable without replacing the entire system or large parts of the system. It is desirable to have a valve that, in addition to being easily operated by one hand, or by mouth, is comfortable for oral actuation, has a high flow rate, does not leak over long periods of repeated use, is easily replaced if damaged, and is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.